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Websleuths News

Join Websleuths Radio for the final discussion of THE KILLING SEASON
with Josh Zemam, Rachel Mills and special guests including Bob Kolker author of Lost Girls

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__________________________________Muddy water in the street; Muddy water 'round my feet... as sung by the inimitable Bessie Smith, "Muddy Water (A Mississippi Moan)"

May 24, 2012, 4:00 p.m.: LPD issues a press release asking business owners and residents with video surveillance equipment to review footage from May 19th, between the hours of 1:30 and 3:30 am.

May 25, 2012: The video surveillance photos of MS on Versailles and the White Truck on St. Landry traveling in the opposite direction MS traveled are released to the public.

May 26, 2012: MS's bike is located by fishermen under the Whiskey Bay Bridge.

May 26, 2012: The video surveillance photos of the White Truck with the bed cover on University, the White Truck on St. Landry traveling in the same direction as MS, and the two pictures of the Hooptie on University and St. Landry are released to the public.

May 26, 2012: BSL reports his truck as stolen in Montgomery County, TX.

May 26, 2012: LPD cancels its scheduled press conference stating there are no new updates

May 26, 2012, 12:42 p.m.: BSL’s girlfriend’s family member posts online about her dating a creepy RSO.

May 27, 2012: MS's bike is recovered by LE under the Whiskey Bay Bridge.

Lafayette, LA - The Lafayette Police Department would like to extend its appreciation to the Shunick Family, all of the law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation, countless volunteers, private business entities, and the public that have assisted in the search and continue to be there as this investigation remains ongoing. I must caution all of you that although an arrest has been made in this case, much work remains to be done.
Working with our Federal, State and local partners, the Lafayette Police Department has arrested Brandon Scott Lavergne and charged him with 1st Degree Murder and Aggravated Kidnapping. Lavergne is believed to be responsible for the disappearance of Michaela “Mickey” Shunick.

On May 19th of this year, the Shunick family reported Mickey’s disappearance. She had not returned home, missed her brother’s graduation from high school, had notified no one of her location, and did not respond to calls made to her cell phone.

On May 25, video evidence was discovered from an LCG facility that captured Mickey on her bike. Several vehicles were observed in the same video and broadcast to the public as vehicles of interest. All of the vehicles of interest were ruled out except for a white Chevrolet Z71 pickup. The driver as well as the vehicle was not ever identified nor did anyone come forward.

On May 26, Mickey’s bike was located under the Whiskey Bay Bridge on I-10 with damage to the rear tire consistent with being struck by a vehicle.
On June 14, Investigators received information from a concerned citizen, regarding a white Z71 that may be involved in Mickey’s disappearance. The vehicle in question was registered to Brandon Lavergne. Further investigation revealed that the truck was reported stolen in Montgomery County, Texas and later located in San Jacinto County, Texas on May 31st. The truck had been burned just days after police released photographs of the truck as a vehicle of interest.

Based on information and surveillance detectives were able to positively identify the truck that traveled directly behind Mickey in the video as belonging to Brandon Lavergne. Investigators are also able to place Brandon Lavergne in and around the location of where the bicycle was located.
On Thursday, July 5, Louisiana State Police conducted a traffic stop on Lavergne near the intersection of I-10 and I-49. He was arrested on an unrelated warrant and transported to the Lafayette Police Department.
During questioning at Lafayette PD, Lavergne requested an attorney and has refused to cooperate any further with the investigation. At that time, he was additionally charged with the aggravated kidnapping and murder of Mickey Shunick.

This has been a very difficult ordeal for the Shunick Family and we thank them for their continuous cooperation, encouragement, and support in our attempts to determine what happened to Mickey. We want the family to know that we will not rest until we can fully know what happened to her. We continue our efforts to locate and bring Mickey home.

This type of case can overwhelm one agency. A tremendous amount of time, equipment, and resources have been put into this investigation. I would be remiss in my duties if I did not acknowledge and thank all of the agencies and private businesses that have been with us from day one of this case: LPSO, ULPD, Lafayette City Marshal’s Office, LSP, SMSO, SLSO, Iberia SO, Iberville SO, East Baton Rouge SO, Acadia SO, Patterson PD, FBI, US Marshal’s Service, LSP Crime Lab, Acadian Crime Lab, C & C Technologies, and Holbrook Media. It is these types of partnerships that have made an arrest possible in this matter.

Q&A Session from Thursday's presser:

I will take questions at this time but I want to caution you that because the investigation is ongoing, there is a lot of information that we will not be able to divulge or discuss.

Q: Chief Craft, how did you know that he was in the area where Mickey’s bike was found? What evidence (inaudible)
A: We have some evidence that we can’t divulge at this time but we know, we can place his vehicle in that area at that time.

Q: When you were searching his home, what was some of the key evidence that was found there? Anything of importance that you can share with us that was found at his home?
A: As I speak we have been at that home since yesterday and we are still processing that scene so we can’t disclose or divulge any evidence that we may or may not have recovered.

Q: What evidence led to the first degree murder charge?
A: (pauses as if to consider how to answer) Um, based on the information developed by our investigators, uh, and the fact that she was kidnapped – an aggravated kidnapping constitutes a charge of first degree murder.

Q: Is there any evidence that there was any sort of struggle?
A: Uh, we can’t go into that at this point.

Q: Was any of Mickey’s DNA found inside his home?
A: We can’t go into that at this point.

Q: How much information (inaudible) bike?
A: Uhm, the bike was consistent – the rear rim was consistent with being struck by a vehicle and …

Q: Did anything come back from the lab reports?
A: We have no lab reports back as of this time.

Q: Chief Craft, was there a second person arrested – a female arrested in this – (inaudible) yesterday?
A: No, the only person arrested in this case has been Brandon Scott Lavergne.

Q: Was Lavergne questioned by the department immediately and then information gathered from his GPS?
A: Uh Lavergne was questioned by the department here after he was picked up by state police at I-10 and I-49.

Q: When was that?
A: Yesterday (Thursday) afternoon about 2:30.

Q: Is there any relation between Lavergne and Mickey Shunick?
A: Not that we are aware of.

Q: Any possibility that any other arrests could come about from this? I know a private investigator identified two descriptions of two separate suspects.
A: We don’t think so at this point.

Q: What (inaudible) believe she’s dead?
A: Just the evidence and information we have in the case that again, I cannot go into.

Q: Chief, was there any type of website or blog or anything that helped to connect you guys to Lavergne or help focus on him?
A: No, the information that came from the citizen is how he came to our attention.

Q: Did that citizen call the tip line?
A: I think that citizen did call the tips line.

Q: How were you able (inaudible) in Texas and put the two together?
A: Through investigation by our detectives and LA State Police we were able to determine that he had purchased another vehicle and so we located the first one over there.

Q: What was that unrelated warrant he was arrested on?
A: It has to do with sex offender registration.

Q: What brought him to the Lafayette area the night of her disappearance. Any information as to what he was doing there?
A: We have no information on that based on the fact that he has refused to talk to us or cooperate with us.

Q: Was his license destroyed, blocking out some information about him being a registered sex offender?
A: Yes.

Q: On May 28th, it says that he was in good standing on his sex offender website. How is that possible, uh, what does that have to do to go through that?
A: Well I don’t think that the people who run the registry would necessarily know that he had altered his driver’s license to hide that information. Uh, if he was making his contacts and making his visits, they may
be ruled in good standing.

Q: Where was he arrested?
A: He was arrested here at the Lafayette Police Department. He was stopped by LA State Police at I-10 and I-49 for a traffic violation.

Q: Do you think that he targeted her or this is a crime of coincidence?
A: I think that based on the information we have and the vehicle was seen in the area – you can see it on the video – maybe he was riding around looking for someone to victimize.

Q: Chief Craft, since he purchased a new vehicle – what was he driving, what was his mode of transportation when he was apprehended?
A: I think it’s a Z71, white pickup truck, just like the one he had.

Q: Chief, how long can you hold him and what’s next?
A: Well, right now he’s charged with aggravated kidnapping and first degree murder. So there’s no bond on the first degree murder. The district attorney has reviewed our affidavit and our warrant and they are in agreement with us that we had probable cause to arrest him and so there’s no bond on a first degree murder warrant so he’s going to be held in a correctional center.

Q: Chief if a body isn’t found do you expect any problem with that as far as prosecution or anything?
A: I couldn’t comment on that. I think that’s a question for the district attorney to answer.

Q: Has anybody else been questioned regarding (inaudible)?
A: Oh, hundreds of people have been questioned regarding this case.

Q: Since the arrest has been made?
A: Yes.

Q: Any females or girlfriends?
A: We’ve questioned a lot of people but I don’t want to go into who we’ve questioned or who we’ve talked to just primarily because our investigation is still ongoing and that may hinder our investigation to disclose that information at this time.

Q: Any clues on where the body may be?
A: (pauses) No.

Q: Chief, any better indication (inaudible) where or around she was taken?
A: Based on what we know in the video we would have to say between St. Landry and St. Mary and Blackham Coliseum. Somewhere between there.

Q: And is there any indication on exactly how they got her, the bike, everything into the vehicle?
A: No.

Q: Chief, with Mr. Lavergne, was there a bite mark on his hand possibly from Mickey Shunick?
A: Can’t comment on that.
Q: (inaudible)
A: Can’t comment on that.

Q: Can you comment on his prior record?
A: No.

Q: Was there anyone else at the house when you went to investigate?
A: No.

Q: Was there anyone else in that vehicle when he was apprehended?
A: No.

Q: Was he an offshore worker?
A: Yes, he is an offshore worker.

Q: Do you know if he was offshore (inaudible) most of the investigation?
A: Well, we know that he’s been offshore for about the last two weeks.

Q: Do you all use FBI profiler in this investigation?
A: We did consult with the behavioral science unit with the FBI Academy at Quantico but the FBI’s made numerous resources available to us throughout this investigation.

Q: What (inaudible) motive for this crime?
A: He’s a sex offender.

Q: (something about truck on fire)
A: That’s part of the arson investigation that’s taking place in Texas at this time.

Q: Do you know how he got back to Louisiana after he set his truck on fire?
A: We’re not releasing that right now.

Q: Do you have reason to believe that Mickey Shunick was sexually assaulted in this crime?
A: We don’t know that yet.

I think the cemetery angle could be very important (given what locals have said about BSL digging up old cemetery plots & for example, DTL's known fondness of watching women at cemeteries & even abducting one victim while she was visiting her mom's grave in Scott).

Maybe not THAT cemetery by the Saints Streets (I'm just assuming it was searched & I think it is frequented by a lot of people who would have noticed something), but maybe rural ones around Church Point....

"All your life, all your love, all your hate, all your memory, all your pain, it was all the same thing. It was all the same dream—a dream that you had inside a locked room. A dream about being a person.” - True Detective

I think the cemetery angle could be very important (given what locals have said about BSL digging up old cemetery plots & for example, DTL's known fondness of watching women at cemeteries & even abducting one victim while she was visiting her mom's grave in Scott).

Maybe not THAT cemetery by the Saints Streets (I'm just assuming it was searched & I think it is frequented by a lot of people who would have noticed something), but maybe rural ones around Church Point....

HUMBLE, TX (KTRK) -- Authorities are investigating an admission from theft suspects that they dug up a grave and stole a child's skull. One of the suspects even made the disturbing confession that he and his friends went on to use the skull to smoke marijuana.
__________________________

I might have missed something, but if he went to Texas to dump his truck and burn it, did he go and come right back cause from may 26-may 31 is almost a week. His girlfriend must have suspected or even if not, where was he staying during that time? Hotel? Friend in Texas? If it was a hotel that he was staying in, surely there would be no evidence left by this point due to other occupants since him staying in assumed hotel room. I'm dying to know what he was truly doing from may 26 - may 31.

Now that someone has been arrested.
Would it be possible to start a thread somewhere showing areas searched
if it would not interfere with the investigation so some of us can continue on looking and searching.